By
Tifa_Lockheart_Nibelheim
Disclaimer: I do not own Final
Fantasy. I do not intend to earn any money with this and simply wrote the story
for my own amusement.
"I'll
go to bed now!" Aeris said and ran up the stairs to her room in the Ghost Hotel
in Gold Saucer.
"Yeah,
I think I'll need some rest, too." Barret said, stretched and followed Aeris.
One
by one, the party left the hall for their rooms to relax before they had to go
on their seek for Sephiroth.
Cloud
stood in his room, alone, looking out of the window, the light of the
thunderstorm outside lit his face. He had been thinking very much in the last
few weeks since he had joined Avalanche. His whole life had changed. But he
didn't quite know if it was better now, or if everything was going to be worse.
While thinking, he always felt lonely, as if nobody could understand his
thoughts. Yes, sure, he had friends; Tifa, Aeris, Barret, Cid, Cait… but they
weren't like him. They hadn't experienced the same things that he had.
All
of a sudden, there was a knock on the door that pulled Cloud out of his
thoughts.
The
door opened and, with that, Clouds face lit a bit, maybe it wasn't even to be
seen, but there surely was a change in his mood.
"Cloud…",
Tifa entered the room, with a strange expression on her face, one Cloud barely
knew, one that made HIM feel strange. Then she forced herself to smile, but it
wasn't as bride as it normally was. It wasn't the same bright smile that made
everybody of the whole bunch feel better.
"I
just thought… I mean… maybe we could sneak out and have some fun tonight. What
u think?"
Cloud
was surprised. He had expected something else to be said, or to be asked.
"C'mon",
Tifa said. "Let's have some fun."
She
ran to Clouds back and softly pushed him out of the room.
"So
what shall we do first?" Cloud asked.
"How
about Wonder Square? I think they show a play there!" Tifa responded. It seemed
like she had gone over the arrangement of this night many times, preparing
every word, every answer to all the questions Cloud could ask.
"Ok."
So
they jumped down the tube to Wonder Square and entered a big room built up like
a theatre. It was full of couples. Cloud was astonished by that high number. He
even wondered how they could get them all into the Gold Saucer hotels.
But
just as they wanted to go down the stairs to take a seat, the employee stepped
in front of both of them, smiling brightly.
"You
are our millionth couple! Congratulations! At this very special evening, we
want you to help our cast to perform the play. Would you please do us this
favor?"
Tifa
was smiling as bright as ever. It seemed as if her smile was even glowing.
"Sure
we will. Won't we, Cloud?"
Tifa
was very excited about the idea. Not even waiting for Cloud's answer, she made
her way down to the stage.
The
curtain was lifted and an actor, dressed up like a knight, started to tell the
story of a princess having been kidnapped by a dragon, now waiting for a true
hero to arrive.
This
was Cloud's cue and he stepped out onto the stage. He was a bit nervous,
because of all the people in the audience watching him. He didn't bring out a
single word.
"So
you are the true hero that will rescue our princess?!" the knight repeated,
because Cloud had forgotten the text.
"Y…
yes, I am." He stammered.
"I
got to hear that the dragon has a weak point, but I can't quite remember it.
Maybe on of them knows the answer to our troubles." The knight pointed at the
king and the sorcerer that had just appeared on the stage.
Cloud
chose the sorcerer. Well, everybody expects a hero to be wise. Sorcerers are
always regarded as wise men.
"You
want to know the dragon's weak point? It's true love! Only true love can save
our princess!"
Well,
that's just what I expected. Isn't this always the same in fairy tales?
Then, a dragon like dressed man jumped onto the stage, holding Tifa in his
arms.
"My
true hero! Please, save me!" Tifa said. It seemed like she knew what to say.
She has ever been kinda acting. Hiding that much
from people she had always done, must have improved her skills.
The
dragon roared and mumble some words.
Cloud
knew that it was his turn now.
How
could he show true love?
I
can't just kiss her. What will she think? What if she thinks too much of it?
So
Cloud took Tifa's hand in his and softly kissed it's back.
Tifa
seemed very surprised. She surely would have expected Cloud blowing up the
whole thing just walking off the stage, repeating how useless everything was.
A
soft tone of red rushed to her cheeks.
The
dragon vanished, having been beaten by true love.
The
whole audience, mainly consisting of couples, was applauding.
The
actors, as well as Cloud and Tifa, bowed before the audience and left the
stage.
"That
was wonderful! How about a gondola ride now?" Tifa asked.
Cloud
agreed, so they jumped down to Round Square, bought two tickets and took their
seats opposite each other.
The
gondola ride started, silence between the two.
Tifa
looked out of the window.
"Cloud,
look! This is wonderful!"
Cloud
followed her advice and took a look out of the window. There he could see the
most astonishing fireworks he had ever seen. All those clear colors reflected
on the golden surface of the mini town. Then he looked at Tifa.
The
colorful explosions brought a wonderful light onto her face, making her eyes
shine even more than they normally did.
The
fireworks ended and silence returned to the gondola.
At
once, Tifa pulled up the courage to say something.
"Cloud…
I … I have to say you something. I've gone over this hundreds of times the last
weeks. I know Aeris could just say it straight out, but I can't.
Cloud…
I… I…"
Cloud
stared at Tifa with excitement.
But
the gondola ride came to a sudden end. The wagon stopped and Cloud and Tifa
stepped out.
"So,
Tifa. What was it you wanted to tell me?" Cloud asked.
Tifa
looked down to gather some strength to force a smile.
"It
was nothing, really. It wasn't important." She replied.
Nothing? That can't be. I've never seen her that
serious, that excited, that… nervous. Was she probably about to tell me she
loved me? If she only had…
But
as long as I'm not sure about that…
It's
better to be unsure than to ruin a lifelong friendship because of some foolish
suspects, Cloud
thought and quietly followed Tifa back to the hotel.
